Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema

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The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on certain films in the early 2020s, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. Across the world, and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theaters were closed, festivals were cancelled or postponed, and film releases were moved to future dates or delayed indefinitely. Due to cinemas and movie theaters closing, the global box office dropped by billions of dollars, streaming saw a significant increase in popularity, and the stock of film exhibitors dropped dramatically. Many blockbusters originally scheduled to be released by mid-March 2020 were postponed or canceled around the world, with film productions also being halted. This in turn created openings for independent cinema productions to receive wider exposure.^[1]

By March 2020, the Chinese film industry had lost US$2 billion, as it had closed all its cinemas during the Lunar New Year, a period that typically sustained the industry across Asia.^[2] North America saw its lowest box office weekend since 1998 between March 13–15.^[3]

The highest-grossing film of 2020 was the anime film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, which earned $503 million worldwide.^[4] It was the first time since 2007 that the top-grossing film of a given year had earned less than $1 billion and the first time a non-American film was the top-grossing film of the year.^[5] In 2021, the worldwide box office showed signs of recovery, with a 78% increase in revenue over 2020.^[6] Despite the presence of pandemic restrictions in some jurisdictions, the December 2021 release Spider-Man: No Way Home quickly became the highest-grossing film of 2021, the sixth highest-grossing film of all time just over a month after its theatrical release, and the first film since 2019 to earn more than $1 billion worldwide.^[7][8]